Parents arrested after son, 2, likely ate ‘rainbow fentanyl,’ California deputies say
Northern California law enforcement arrested a couple on suspicion of child endangerment this week after their 2-year-old son was taken to hospital for suspected fentanyl ingestion, authorities said.
Sheriff’s officials said the incident likely involved rainbow fentanyl — a brightly colored drug that local, state and federal authorities have issued warnings about in recent weeks.
Deputies with the Butte County Sheriff’s Office were contacted by Cal Fire personnel around 2:45 p.m. Monday after parents had transported their child to a fire station on Concow Road in the Yankee Hill area, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The parents, identified as 22-year-old Justin Bryce Zedaker II and 23-year-old Allie May Stuber, allegedly told authorities that they believed the boy “had ingested an unknown substance while in the care of someone else,” sheriff’s officials wrote. The child was “lethargic and displaying symptoms of possible opioid poisoning.”
Cal Fire personnel rendered aid until an air ambulance arrived, administered naloxone and airlifted him to a Chico hospital. The child “responded to the opioid overdose medication,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The child was monitored and treated at the hospital, then released into the care of Butte County Children’s Services.
Law enforcement officials determined that the child “had likely ingested fentanyl at home while in the care of the parents,” according to the news release.
The Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force and sheriff’s detectives obtained a search warrant for the parents’ home, a trailer in Concow, where task force agents located meth, drug paraphernalia, and a “small amount of rainbow colored fentanyl in a silicone container in the vehicle driven by the parents.”
Zedaker and Stuber were arrested on charges of child endangerment and possession of controlled substances. Both were booked Monday evening into the Butte County Jail, booking records show, where they remained in custody as of Thursday morning.
According to the Sheriff’s Office news release, the fentanyl that the 2-year-old is believed to have ingested “had the appearance of rainbow colored candy, and had been placed in a silicone container in a form which might appeal to a child.”
A photo of the fentanyl posted by the Sheriff’s Office showed a small, bright-blue and pink tablet next to a silicone container resembling a toy skull.
This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 8:58 AM.
